hi, everyone. thank you so much for joining me. on the eve of the republican national convention, president trump is dealing with an unexpected family scandal. we are hearing new recordings of the president's sister maryanne trump barry unloading on her brother. secretly recorded by the president's niece mary trump, the former federal jujhar dge hy criticized her brother. >> the tweet and the lying, oh my god, you know it is the change of stories, a lack of

preparation, the lying, the holy [ bleep ]. >> for the latest on this, let's bring in jeremy diamond who's at the white house. this drama could not come at a worst time as the president is preparing to make case starting tomorrow for re-election. this is his own sister saying this. >> reporter: that's right. in these candid conversations, maryanne trump barry the president's sister describes him as someone that's cruel, no principles, doesn't even read and that frankly isn't all too dissimilar we heard this past week as sodemocrats and some republicans making the case. we awe former president obama, michelle obama, republican john kasich all describing president trump in very similar terms to what we now hear from the president's own sister and she also describes the president as someone who only cares about

himself, talking about an incident where she asked him for a favor to get the attorney to call president reagan and push ahead her nomination for a federal judgeship. >> donald's out for donald. period. when he said -- he started to say something to me, well, look at what i've done for you. and i said you have done nothing deliberately. i have never asked him for a favor since 1981. when i was being highly considered to go on the federal court. on my own merit. >> reporter: and the president's older sister argued that president trump hasn't accomplished anything in his life on his own other than the multiple bankruptcies that he has undergone. the president did respond to this in a statement last night provided by the white house.

every day it's something else. who cares? i miss my brother and i'll continue to work hard for the american people. not everyone agrees but the results are obvious. our country will be stronger ha than ever before. now the president and his family will have an opportunity to rebut some of the allegations about his character. the president's children all four of his adult children featuring in the republican national convention this week. >> every day is something else. who cares? seems to be another way of saying it is what it is. trump's famous words. jeremy, thank you so much. right now there are two storms barrelling toward the gulf coast to follow. the first one marco is a category 1 hurricane. it is headed for the louisiana coast with a direct hit expected tomorrow. then within 48 hours a second storm is expected to slam into

the state. cnn meteorologist tom sater joins me now. what are the developments on did two storms that seem to be approaching one state a few days apart from each other? >> within 48 hours. in fact, we have never had two hurricanes in the gulf simultaneously. by the time laura reaches the gulf marco will make land fall. it looks like marco as a category 1 hurricane remains at that status. laura is moving through the caribbean, 500,000 power dominican republic. massive land slides. homes destroyed. marco, takes the winds and the water that's upwelling through louisiana parishes. maybe 5 1/2, 6 feet and also the strong winds that will be knocking out power.

remember three weeks ago, knocked out power to 3.3 million. marco tomorrow afternoon. warnings and watches. this is extended with laura into the gulf. big concerns in the coming days. surge 4 to 6 feet, a big deal in the parishes. but again, laura which is only a tropical storm doesn't care about the high terrain and fighting it. usually it rips them apart. running through cuba tonight and tomorrow and expected to reach category 1 and category 2 to the west. we believe the longer it stays in the warm waters, it could be stronger than a category 2. watching the warnings in this area and both passing cones of uncertainty overlapping in lake charles and lay fayette.

that's tomorrow afternoon, wednesday night for laura. already evacuations of 114 gas and oil offshore rigs have been taken care of so there's 600 of them but 114 evacuations says a lot. >> well prepared for hurricanes but two within a couple days of each other is something no state can prepare for perfectly. people are bracing for days of hurricanes force winds and potential flooding. the louisiana governor telling residents wherever they are tonight they should be prepared to stay for at least 72 hours. martin savidge is in new orleans. what else did the governor say about the preparations? >> reporter: they have grown accustomed to preparing for storms, especially august. they have never had to prepare two back to back hurricanes and even though individually they

might be considered manageable, together they're something unprecedented and planning for what is difficult. we have pictures of the public as they respond and seeing the long lines of people now heeding the warning, stocking up because they're realizing now it is not a just 36-hour event but potentially 72 hours and beyond and not just the power to go out because it will may not come back because the crews won't have time in between to restring the power lines or the flooding. there may not be enough time for the water levels to subside before the next round of flooding with the next storm. here's the governor talking about that. >> this is a situation where you really need to be prepared as we have always told you to ride out these storms and the first 72 hours is on you.

and that is because the second storm comes in so close there may not be a window to fly search and rescue helicopters or when we can get out with high water vehicles. >> reporter: that search and rescue operation is the real concern. if you have major flooding trying to get boats and helicopters in to rescue people before the next storm, may not be enough time. >> fema will have its hands full for a couple of days for sure. martin, thank you. houston could be in the path of the second storm laura. how do hospitals already battling the coronavirus outbreak prepare for the impact of a hurricane? dr. bessette is an emergency medical medicine physician and director at university of baylor in houston. thank you so much for joining us. how do hospitals handle a

natural disaster and what lessons were learned from hurricane harvey to utilize today? >> you know, it is like we just can't catch a break in 2020. >> i know. >> the coronavirus pandemic wasn't enough, now we are in middle of what many experts say is the busiest and most active hurricane season in recent history. luckily for us, hospital systems are better prepared. so, for example, they have hurricane impact windows and doors. hospitals will typically have industrial size and strength generators to power the entire hospital and the equipment in case of the power lines go down and they prepare the staff by creating what some call ride-out teams or disaster teams that prepare to stay two up to seven days at a time, eating, sleeping and showering at the hospital to

ensure we have staff available to take care of the patients. >> i'm from houston. we have covered and lived through many hurricanes there but in the midst of a pandemic is something unprecedented. i want to turn to that and the upcoming election. president trump as you know tweeting today and the past several weeks about mail-in ballots and dismissing the idea of mail drop boxes and suggesting that they could spread covid among other things. twitter has already flagged this and marked it as misleading health claims. let me ask you as somebody who's a medical physician, should people be alarmed by catching christ at drop boxes? i'm assuming the answer is no, they're safe. >> donald trump's twitter account has been filled with a litany of inaccurate and irresponsible tweets.

this is just one of many to add to the list. of course mailboxes are dirty but so are any surface that multiple people touch. i don't think that the american people need to be alarmed that they're going to catch coronavirus by using mail-in ballots. the most important thing that we can do is perform hand hygiene. put your ballot in the mail and use hand sanitizer. not quantum physics. what is riskier is standing in a line without distancing with people not wearing masks to vote in person. >> thank you for clarifying that for us. so many people with purell to do that. you wash your hands right away and use purell if you need to. talk of the coronavirus vaccine is ramping up with the announcement that russia has one to go in production as soon as next month. should we be putting this much of resources in a vaccine or

therapeutics or can we do both effectively? >> i think that we can be doing both effectively. we need to figure out how to immunize the american population to stop the spread of covid. however, a vaccine is at least one year away if not several years away so what are we going to do right now? there have been 176,000 american lives lost to coronavirus. how are we going to prevent more deaths today? a vaccine is not the way to do it. "operation warp speed" funded by the united states government has allocated billions of dollars in funds to vaccine development. johnson & johnson over $400 million. moderna almost $500 million. to search for a vaccine, why not take some of those funds and dedicate it towards supplying ppe for hospitals? hospital systems are still reusing and limiting ppe

resources. let's support teachers in schools so that we don't feel forced to open the schools and continue to propagate the virus. let's support small businesses. >> doctor, we'll have to leave it there. let's also hope that the hurricane manages to avoid houston and the u.s. in general. we're thinking of you and wishing you the best. thank you. >> thank you. well, as many colleges and universities reopen for classes, many are struggling to handle coronavirus outbreaks. some student journalists have a message for school leaders, don't make us write obituaries. wow. two of the students behind the headline will be joining me coming up. wildfires in california scorched more than 1 million acres. we will have a live report for you next. wayfair has everything outdoor

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firefighters in california are struggling to con tan more than 600 wildfires. at least four people are dead and more than a million acres have burned. president trump has grantedaster relief for the state as officials are bracing for more thunderstorms and lightning which could mean more fires. paul vercammen is in calistoga, california. the firefighters must be exhausted. >> reporter: they are exhausted, trying to catch a rest as there's a brief break in the weather. we've got a lot of problems potentially on the horizon, literally. dry lightning strikes forecasted for later today. this is the xhacommand post to r up for that work. let me show you how they plot. here's the map. three fires make up the lnu

complex, 341,000 acres. and then over here you can get a sense for what they mean when they talk about containment. containment is gained through a backfire, digging line and over here the black is containment, down here. but then look at the rest of this. uncontained. 17% of the fire only contained right now and why they're worried about these lightning strikes, unprecedented in california. they just did a short time ago in here, 1.3 million acres have burned and that red flag warning throughout almost all of northern california and central california. rick cordova put it in perspective for us. >> this is a historic, i mean, something that we have seen in the past but not to this magnitude. our resources are stretched thin and worried the system coming in

causing the same havoc in the state and trying to get resources to protect the citizens of california. >> reporter: and protecting those citizens of california has earned respect for all of the first responders, another darling sign and just so cute all over the sign. thank you for protecting us, for fighting the fires and little hearts, strong sentiment here where they have had some tough times with fires in the last few years. >> for so grateful for the firefighters working there and not everyone near containment. thank you so much. colleges around the country are struggling to cope with the coronavirus. as they try to bring students back to campus. some student journalists sent a message to college administrators, don't make us write obituaries. i'll talk with the students behind that headline next.

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the university of notre dame confirmed that more than 400 people have tested positive for coronavirus since students returned to campus earlier this month. this just days after the school student newspaper issued a warning with an editorial headline don't make us write obituaries imploring the community to address it in a serious manner to save lives. notre dame with a statement in response writing we are on the same page, students, faculty and staff are owl in this together and it's only by working

together we can stay safe. joining me is the editor in chief and a senior at st. mary's college and mariah. ladies, so much for jonning me on your weekend especially. maria, do you agree with what the university said that semp n everyone is on the same page here? >> it's good to hear that the message is received and that everyone on campus is working together to better our situation. >> well, that's a move in the right direction. i would say. but mariah, the editorial is asking everyone, students, administration and faculty to do everything in their power to make sure that students stay safe. is that what's happening? because we continue to hear about parties off campus and students breaking rules that are not enforced. what is your make of that?

>> we hope that people took our editorial seriously. that is a major reason for it. we saw some peers taking coronavirus as maybe a minor inconvenience for them. maybe they have to quarantine for two weeks and then bounce back but it's larger consequences for them and it's larger consequences for the notre dame community and the surrounding south bend community. >> yeah. >> it determines whether or not -- >> go ahead. i'm sorry. >> it determines whether or not we can stay on campus. >> and that is the end goal. when the university saying we're all in this together, this is the experiment they're hoping works out. i remember it being ambitious for notre dame to announce to return for in-person classes. students throughout the country are envious of the fact they're not on campus despite a mask and protocols enforced right now. do you think that the students are risking being able to be on

campus when for so many other students it is considered a luxury now? >> yeah, of course. of course there are risks with being on campus and if we don't comply with the rules as students, if anyone in our community isn't following the guidelines set in place, we are risking making the situation much worse than it is so as we stressed in our editorial we want everyone to be taking the situation and the guidelines seriously so we can all work together to make sure everyone can stay healthy and on campus. >> yeah. maria, it also notes that administrators largely blamed the outbreaks on students attending off campus party which is has allowed them in at least the editorial standpoint to

deflect responsibility. in your view, did the university do enough to prepare for students to return? >> yeah. as we saw the first few weeks back on campus, there were a few things that we wish would have been in place before we returned, like proper testing strategies, releasing more information to everyone in the communities via that here dashboard just so we could have transparency about the process and see what's going on and the university put surveillance testing in place on friday so that is one thing we wish would have been happening as soon as we were on campus but we believe that the blame for the situation cannot just lie on one party whether it be students, administrators, faculty, staff, anyone. this situation is happening

because of how our community has responded as a whole and we hope people can read the editorial and receive the message that we are a community and the actions have consequences and we have to take care of one another. >> mariah, notre dame is planning to go ahead with a football season this year and are students on board with that decision right now? >> i think students want everything to be as normal as it could possibly be under these circumstances and that may be a reason for in the first couple weeks things not taken as seriously as they could have been but we want to stay on campus as long as we can and safely and don't want anything worse than what's happening now to happen and if lives are at stake, we don't want anyone else to get hurt. >> look.

we can all sympathize with you. you all deserve to have a full college experience as much as as a healthy one as you can have. stay safe and enjoy college as best as you can right now and wear your masks. >> thank you. >> thank you for joining us. after years of coping with tainted tap water there's a massive legal settlement for the people of flint, michigan, finally. residents get most of a $600 million settlement with the state of michigan but the problems may be the only tip of the iceberg. we'll discuss flint and what could be lurking in other community's water supplies. my great-great grandmother. she was all of 4'11" but very tenacious. a very independent woman. driven, passionate. embodied grit, perseverance. she marched. -she wrote. -she demanded. she was proud to pass on a legacy of civic mindedness to her descendants. i'm very proud to carry on her story.

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consumer advocate and author of book "superman's not coming." first let me begin by getting your reaction to the agreement. you called it a great day and consumed five years of legal action and negotiations. talk about the significance of this agreement and what it means for those that fought and sought justice. >> well, i think you know the significance is very important, certainly for the people of flint. they have been going through hell literally for five years. over this situation that should have never happened. if you back it up to this is a perfect storm where the municipality was doing everything wrong, shockingly from agency and an entire state cover-up that left these people in a lurch. they responded by rising together. i admire them so much. this is a victory for them. wheels of justice can spin slow.

took tong in this situation. the contamination, the danger to the children, to the community but i'm so proud of them and they stuck together and they stood out to see this result. for assurance that this doesn't continue to happen. >> yeah. it was a relentless fight for sure. you mentioned children. 80% of the money would go to claims filed for minors in children. i know you joined forces with mothers in flint and you're being credited for your voice in this. how will this settlement impact those children specifically? >> those children will carry the scars of what happened in flint forever. there would never be enough money to make that okay. but it's a start, to get them on a track, get them the help they need. their'll forever be scarred but that it will send a message. they're rising, speaking out and this settlement that we cannot afford to allow this to happen.

and other communities which unfortunately it is. but that we need to take action to change how we're dealing with water, specifically lead, how we're treating it and the ul ultimate impact on the community and especially our children. >> nor those who are watching and aren't aware of the specifics, give us a sense of what happened to many of these children, some of their medical issues and traumas as you said that will scar them for the rest of their lives. >> well, they have just been put behind the 8 ball if you will unnecessarily and never needed to have happen. one thing that i think was difficult is they have symptoms, they experience something, they know something's going on. the mothers know something is going on but it's constantly dismissed. and when they start complaining, you know, whether it's fatigue or brain fog or however it is you can explain to a parent that something is changing, they

reported things about hair loss, rashes. they noted little things building up and dr. mona was the doctor and started really realizing this and so i think they really carry emotional scars, as well, for life because of what happened to them that should have never happened. >> and it's -- >> that's concerning. >> it is unacceptable it fell on deaf ears so long and impacted so many families. talk about you and your impact here and helping to contribute to others in this country. it is 20 years since you became famous and people became familiar with your voice and julia roberts portrayed you and you wrote a book on a manual on how other americans can be environmental crusaders.

what are the basic tips to help ensure the communities and water supplies? >> don't be afraid to get involved and say something. this is what i say throughout environments. there is an idea or an expectation that there's some blanket or agency or system that will just automatically deal with these issues for us and one of the things need to do is understand that's not happening and ourselves take it upon ourselves to say something. say something to your neighbor. get involved at city council. these are things, the first thing to do is take an action and where i see that i can give my best work to all these communities is oftentimes they don't want to speak up or speak out because they're afraid that they will be labeled or perceived as crazy or nothing wrong with the water and making this up and that is not true and this is where i'm seeing mothers make an amazing rise and i'm

their biggest cheerleader because they know. and they need to take that step. i'm going to ask questions. i'm going to pick that phone call up. i'm going to get involved. that's what i see missing more often than not in the communities. and so "superman's not coming" is a book, whatever you cause is, you need the tools to know how to fight back and organize and that is what we're hoping to do and the best thing to do in every community but i will assure you this. every single community i'm in, once they get it, they know it. they understand it. they act and they get involved and that's what it will take from us the people, not just expect that somebody else is going to do it for us. >> superman may not have come but super women as mothers fought and fought for children

in large part to your advocacy, as well. >> thank you. >> i know you'll stay on this mission. >> absolutely. thank you. well, president trump is expected to speak each night during this week's republican national convention. we're hearing more about plans for the rnc as secretly recorded xheptds from the president's sister threaten to overshadow the event. a live report from charlotte, north carolina, is coming up next. lysol laundry sanitizer kills 99.9% of bacteria. detergent alone can't. lysol. what it takes to protect. ®

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tomorrow the republicans will kick off their 2020 convention as the president will make his case for re-election. cnn learned that president trump is expected to speak at each

event each night. trump campaign advisers vow for a cheerful, positive convention to focus on the president's accomplishments. >> we're going to see a very optimistic and upbeat convention from president trump and the republican allies and actually from the democratic and independent allies, as well. we'll talk about the american story, the accomplishments of the last four years with president trump and what the president's second term vision is going to look like and this is a big difference between president trump and n his convention this week and the democrats last week. last week it was a massive grievance fest. >> republicans may have their work cut out for them pushing an upbeat message with coronavirus taking the lives of more than 176,000 americans. and the pandemic showing no signs of going away any time soon. adding to the president's troubles, stunning new audio recordings of the president's sister who harshly criticizes her brother and blasts the

president's record and character. >> the goddamn tweet and the lying, i'm talking too freely but you know it is the change of stories, a lack of preparation, the lying, the holy [ bleep ]. >> cnn's ryan nobles in charlotte, north carolina. president trump will arrive there tomorrow. tell us more about what we can expect from this convention. >> reporter: it's interesting that we are back here in charlotte for this republican national convention, this where president trump envisioned a big, huge party this week leading up to him accepting the nomination once again for his party as president of the united states. but the coronavirus has thrown this convention planning for a loop. they initially planned to move much of the activity away from charlotte to jacksonville, florida. those plans were shelved and now the bulk of the convention will take place in washington, d.c. but there is some business here

behind me, specifically the roll call vote where the president will once again be nominated and as you mentioned he and vice president mike pence are expected here tomorrow to accept that nomination. and then the rest of the week what we're really expecting is a lot of praise and and lags for president trump and expected to appear in some form or fashion in the prime time hour of the convention every day this week and then the list of speakers all have a common theme, all folks who have a deep loyalty to president trump, among them, the former ambassador to germany, you have the former ambassador of the united nations nikki haley and the culture war figures like the mcclotskys, black live matters protesters went by their house and a speaker revealed today is dan scavino director of social media, been by the president's side from the very beginning and while the democratic convention

last week was a display of unity between the factions within the democratic party this week is going to be all about president trump and of course he is a former reality tv show star and trying to bring some of that to the convention this week. >> it's hard to have an upbeat environment ryan noble, than much. well, before president trump and vice president persons make their bid for four more years, join anderson cooper with your guys to four unconventional days. the preview is live tonight at 8:00 eastern. joe biden is revealing his motive behind choosing his running mate. in their first joint tv interview, biden tells abc news he didn't feel any pressure to select kamala harris. >> i didn't feel pressure. i cannot understand and fully appreciate what it means to walk in her shoes, to be an african

woman with an indian-american background, a child of immigrants. she can't assume exactly what it's like to walk in my shoes, but we do know we have the same value set, and i really mean that. sew it was an easy decision to make. >> harris's story is inspiring asian-americans as well as she make history to be on the presidential ticket. kyung lah reports. >> i september your nomination for vice president of the united states of america. >> reporter: in this historic moment, senator kamala harris acknowledged her past through her mother. >> she raised us to know and be produce of our indians heritage. >> reporter: that pride shared by an empire grew of americans. >> she's the vp nomination. >> reporter: from a democratic

organizer in california. >> this is just incredible. >> to katerina in colorado. we first met her at a harris presidential rally in denver. katerina was featured in a video part of wednesday's program, talking about what this means to girls like her. >> seeing one who looks like me do it is kind of like me seeing myself doing it, because honestly in my opinion, i do kind of look like her. you see yourself and you put that goal, yes, i'm going to do it. >> reporter: a reflections that south asians are celebrating across social media. s posting side-by-side pictures with the words representation matters. >> we're both indians, but

actual li both south indian. >> mindy kalin talked about her her an with harris in this video last year. she tweeted, was there ever more of an exciting day. it's a marker, not just for today, but for tomorrow. >> south asians are part of the workforce, not so much part of the leadership, but we can lead, bring about changes, we can help, make people feel better about living here in the united states. >> my god, it's historic for me and for my daughter, my son. >> reporter: it means being seen. she's now organizing for the biden/harris ticket hoping american politics will targets asian-americans. >> to see someone like her not just crack those ceilings, but break through them, it's incredibly inspiring. i think it's going to be having

a huge impact on all of our communities. >> kyung lah, cnn, los angeles. well, this sunday w.kamau bell is back with a new episode. the population of venezuelans in the u.s. has increased over the past few years. he now visits miami to talk about the immigrants now facing their home country. here's the interview. >> about 10,000. >> 10,000 -- >> right now that's worth like a quarter. >> when your country's money has thousands on it and regular people are holding a 10,000 note, that's never a good sign. >> so this is -- >> origami.

>> it's like a napkins. it's worth more as a napkins than it is currency. >> shedding a light of such an important story. be sure to tune in. it airs tine. thank you so much for joining me this weekend. i'm biann a golodryga. c continues with fredricka after a short break.

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hello on this sunday. you are live in the c"cnn newsroo newsroom". i'm ana cabrera. thank you for being here. tomorrow the realtyie tv puts on his convention. some convention reminders that the disruptive outsider of 2016 is now the beleaguered incumbent of this year's race. a short time from now the president will hold a press conference with the head of the fda. the topic -- a major therapeutic breakthrough, but the timing unusual. just yesterday the president accused members of the fda of being part of the deep state,

an